Gonzaga rewind: Zags take Nate Bittle’s best shot, keep turnover count down during 91-82 win over Oregon

PORTLAND – Gonzaga can bank on at least two more chances to play in the state of Oregon this season. The Zags are scheduled to return in February for road West Coast Conference games against Portland (Feb. 4) and Oregon State (Feb. 7).

Whether the seventh-ranked Zags return in March for a few bonus games at the Moda Center will hinge on how they hold up over the next two months during WCC play.

The NCAA Tournament is returning to the Rose City, with first- and second-round games taking place at the Portland Trail Blazers’ home arena, where Gonzaga polished off an impressive nonconference run with a 91-82 victory over Oregon on Sunday afternoon.

Early bracket projections have Gonzaga slotted in as a No. 2 seed, which would all but guarantee Mark Few’s team is back in Portland to open March Madness.

We’ll spend the next two to three months revisiting that possibility, but for now we’ll stick with the rewind of Sunday’s game, and how Gonzaga completed an impressive 12-1 run through nonconference play.

Back and forth with Bittle

Gonzaga made a push to land Nate Bittle five years ago, recruiting the five-star center out of California’s Prolific Prep. The logjam in Mark Few’s frontcourt may have been one of the things that steered Bittle away from Spokane after initially listing GU as one of his four finalists. All-American Drew Timme was only a sophomore at the time and the Zags were heavily involved with Chet Holmgren, who’d give his commitment to Few’s staff the following spring.

Gonzaga can’t complain with how things turned out, but Sunday’s game also would’ve gone smoother had the 7-foot Bittle been wearing a GU jersey as opposed to a UO one.

Through the first 20 minutes, Oregon’s center was equally effective preventing Gonzaga’s frontcourt from getting quality looks at the basket as he was scoring from a variety of places on the court.

Bittle, who led Oregon in four statistical categories, turned away Braden Huff’s shot inside the first three minutes and blocked Graham Ike a few minutes after that. Bittle then rattled off seven straight Oregon points, converting on a 3-pointer, knocking down a jumper and adding a layup to keep the Ducks locked in a one-possession game.

“He’s a really skilled player, can shoot it really well, good post game,” Huff said. “Then defensively he’s really big in there. So I think just the same approach every game, regardless of the matchup just attacking down low and being physical and not changing the approach is the biggest thing. But he’s a really, really skilled player and he had a good one tonight.”

Bittle scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the first half and also squeezed each of his four blocks into the opening frame. The 7-footer finished 10 of 19 from the field, 3 of 8 from the 3-point line and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. In addition to points and blocks, Bittle also led the Ducks in rebounds (9) and assists (5).

“We recruited Nate and he comes from a great family and had a great high school career,” Few said. “It’s great to see him healthy, I think when you see him healthy you can see how skilled he is and I think when you play him, you forget how big he is. And listen there’s a lot of guys in college basketball that are doing that, he’s not the only one. They’ve taken advantage of it and good for them. Until we can get some organization and some rules around this thing, I think we’ll continue to see that.”

Now in his fifth college basketball season, Bittle has dealt with a handful of physical setbacks, including an ankle injury suffered during the Players Era Festival. His 37 minutes on Sunday were a season high and 12 more than he’d played in any game since hurting his ankle against San Diego State.

“He looked a lot bouncier than he has for weeks,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “That first half was by far his best half all around defensively, offensively. He hasn’t blocked a shot for a month, so getting him back. That first half, their points in the paint had eight and I thought Nate was big in the second half, but I thought he was just gassed.

“We kept him out there, but 27 minutes coming off of a month where he hasn’t practiced and played more than 20 minutes in a game.”

Razor sharp

Gonzaga’s assist numbers have hovered in the high teens and low- to mid-20’s most of the season. The Zags are also averaging 10.3 turnovers and probably addressed that statistical category coming out of Wednesday’s game against Campbell, when they committed a season-high 15 turnovers.

The assist numbers looked good against Oregon, but the turnover numbers were even better.

Gonzaga had 20 assists compared to a season-low five turnovers, including nine assists with zero turnovers in the second half.

Backup point guard Braeden Smith dictated a lot of what Gonzaga did offensively, totaling seven assists without committing a single turnover.

“I thought it was a pretty good performance, was able to take care of the ball, play make a little bit and score when needed,” Smith told The Sideline’s Andy Katz after the game. “I think it was a great team win tonight, we rallied through some adversity and it was a great way to win nonconference.”

Gonzaga turned the ball over on just 7.4% of its offensive possessions – the lowest rate of the Few era versus a power conference opponent. The Zags’ five turnovers were the fewest in a game they’ve also had at least 20 assists since Jan. 14, 2023, against Portland. Before Sunday, Gonzaga has never registered at least 20 assists and five or fewer turnovers against a high-major opponent during Few’s tenure.

Modest Moda turnout

Oregon fans slightly outnumbered Gonzaga fans at the Moda Center, but the turnout in general was smaller than anticipated in a game featuring neighboring Pacific Northwest programs that hadn’t played in the continental U.S. since 1983.

The Zags and Ducks drew 10,055 for Sunday’s game, filling slightly more than half of the available seats at the downtown Portland venue, which lists a capacity of 19,393 for basketball games.

“Listen, we have a great following and I really, really appreciate everybody that showed up today. That was the plan when Dana and I set this thing up. I’ve got to be honest with you, I thought we’d have more of Zag nation than we had. We usually draw like crazy wherever we go and especially in the Northwest. A little disappointed in that, but I was so happy for everybody that did show.”

Gonzaga entered the game with a top-10 ranking and sparkling nonleague record, but its opponent, which came into the receiving Top 25 votes, was just 6-5 before losing Sunday – perhaps one reason more Eugene- or Portland-based Duck fans didn’t attend. Many Oregon fans also attended a College Football Playoff game against James Madison at Autzen Stadium the night before.

Gonzaga fans didn’t necessarily show up in droves, possibly because many located in the Northwest elected to attend the team’s showdown with another Big Ten school, UCLA, eight days prior at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. As mentioned earlier, Portland-based GU fans could have two to four more chances to see the Zags within a 90-mile radius of the city over the next two months.